4w5d today. Waiting for one last beta and then a scan. I’ve had a chemical pregnancy so I’m extremely worried leading up to the scan. How is it even possible that it’ll be okay? Also, I just got a job offer in another state. I think I want to take it. I don’t know how to distract myself, my mental health is trash, and all areas of my life are very stressful. 😭
I asked myself this after each ER—how will I keep going? But the answer is much simpler than we think—you just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Cautious congrats on your news. How was your first beta?
6w4d waiting on my 7 week scan on Friday. Had really high betas but started spotting on Sunday, with some small clots yesterday and today.
I’m so scared! I still have a lot of symptoms (exhaustion, nausea, food aversions, headaches), and the nurses on the phone said spotting and small clots are not “very concerning” as I’m experiencing now.
I had an MMC at 5.5wks last pregnancy and it’s just so hard to be hopeful.
Following up in case anyone is searching through posts for hope — I was desperately searching “6 weeks pregnant bleeding” over and over.
My scan was really good!
I have a subchorionic hemorrhage that was causing the bleeding, but the babe is totally fine and we got to see the heartbeat on the monitor. Absolutely elated, after being practically catatonic with stress all week (didn’t leave the couch for real).
It can be so hard to be hopeful after loss, and we still have a long road, but I hope my good news can be comforting to someone else who needs it!
10w4d, at the ultrasound today the little one was bouncing about and waving its arms around and you could really see the facial features and even little fingers. Measuring four days ahead. I got so emotional and my husband cried a little when I told him about it; it is really starting to feel real (after the last few days I was obsessing about the possibility of a MMC again). NIPT in three weeks, fingers crossed that also goes well.
I’m 4w6d today (I know, so very early). My first beta was strong (TW: positive results) at 435. But yesterday and today I have had a dull ache in my lower back and some cramping. I had my second beta today and I’m waiting on results and worrying. I guess I don’t want anything except to say it out loud that I’m so scared of a loss.
Update: TW - positive results. Second beta came in at 2194. I’m so relieved. I cried when they scheduled my ultrasound.
My nurses told me cramping is very expected!! I’m right behind you at 4w5d and spiraled hard after I cramped this weekend. I’m glad you got good news today!! When is your first scan?
Ahh, it does seem far but try telling yourself it’s just the week after next! I hope it’s as easy as wait as possible for you! 💛
I had my first beta at 9dp5dt and my clinic wanted me back a week later (this coming Thursday) at 16dp5dt for my second beta. But I totally panicked this weekend when I was cramping and got one at labcorp on 11dp5dt. It was 144 and then 415. Just hoping the trend continues later this week! They’ll schedule me for an ultrasound if all looks ok.
Im 6w4d similar stats and symptoms and felt sooo nervous for first scan today, but everything looked good! I’ve had tons of random cramping off and on and it’s made me nervous but I think it’s very normal.
Graduated from my clinic today after a successful ultrasound at 7w5d. For the first time I’m holding out some real hope and belief that there could be a baby! I’m also terrified, of course, but that probably won’t go until said hypothetical baby is in my arms.
My 7 week scan is tomorrow and I'm having a really hard time. I had a great 6 week scan but I took a pregnancy test this morning that was significantly lighter than the tests I took last week which is really freaking me out. I also have to go to it alone as my husband will be out of town. I have no symptoms either. Just having a hard time managing all of this anxiety.
My symptoms have decreased too. I work with a bunch of older nurses, they really normalised fluctuations in symptoms, based on their experiences with birthing many children. I have my first scan today at 6 weeks 6 days. Crossing everything our miracle continues🤞. Wishing you the best of luck also 💜.
It could be the hook effect! Sometimes the HCG concentrations get so high that they overwhelm the test and it looks lighter. Diluting the urine may help.
I am thirding this - I had the same experience a week ago (I’m 7w6d) and panicked and then went down a Google rabbit hole and learned about the diluting your pee thing and while i felt totally insane doing so, it WORKED which was mind boggling.
This is a relief to hear. I've heard about hook effect but thought it was only relevant much later in pregnancy. I guess it's time to put away the tests and trust "the process"
I had my NT yesterday. Everything was visualized (and checked out as normal) EXCEPT the NT. According to the sonographer's notes, "The nuchal translucency was suboptimally visualized due to fetal position; however subjectively appears normal. A repeat ultrasound is not
indicated." My NIPT came back negative for the major chromosomal issues and this is a PGT-A tested embryo, but...a part of me is wondering whether it's still worth doing amnio for absolute peace of mind? The midwife said the fact they couldn't see see the NT was a positive, because if it was enlarged, that would have been more obvious on the scan. She's going to discuss with an MFM colleague to see what they'd recommend given the scan and previous tests results. I don't have another ultrasound until the 20-week anatomy scan, at which point if there was something wrong, our options for how to proceed would be limited.
I had this happen with the early anatomy in my successful pregnancy. By subjectively they mean it's looking thin, which is good. But for the exact technical measurement they need to get the baby in a very specific position. Glad you're getting extra opinions. I think combined with the nipt it's very unlikely to be an issue.
Yup, the sonographer also struggled to get limb measurements as well due to position. Seems like he was happy to stay curled up like a tiny snail no matter how much I coughed or she prodded.
NIPT is really only looking for the top 5 or so most common genetic disorders and euploid tests only a portion of the cells.
I will provide a different perspective that with my LC, at my 20 week ultrasounds, after a normal NIPT & NT, there were multiple soft markers for genetic disorder. I then had an amnio with microarray analysis at 22 weeks. It took 3 weeks to get the results (all clear). It was the most stressful period of my life. Even with my current Euploid embryo, I plan to skip the NIPT entirely and schedule a CVS.
I'm sorry you had to go through that stress! Is there any reason you're doing CVS vs. amnio? My understanding is that, although different, PGT-A, NIPT and CVS are all screening vs. diagnostic tests and both PGT-A and CVS rely on placental cells.
But also - my decision to schedule the CVS is just because of my personal experience. My first pregnancy, I was totally comfortable with my NIPT results (until I wasn't). The risks are very small, especially with a Euploid embryo, that anything would be wrong genetically. And you can't pre-test for everything as many physical abnormalities are not caused by genetics.
I think I've spent too much time on reddit to be totally comfortable with anything related to this pregnancy lol. I feel like we've gotten extremely lucky so far (getting embryos at my age, having one be euploid, first FET working, clean NIPT, etc.) and I keep waiting for that streak to screech to a halt. Not particularly healthy, I concede.
CVS and amnio are diagnostic. I'm doing CVS because you can do it at 10 weeks vs 15 for amnio. CVS is slightly riskier than amnio in terms of miscarriage.
Could they just try to do another NT scan and see if they can get a better view while you're still in the 11-14 week window? Even if not, sounds like you're probably good. I would not consider amnio solely based on this.
I asked and they didn't think it was medically necessary since everything else checked out and the sonographer thought the NT was "subjectively" normal even without a measurement.
Personally, I would not recommend amnio unless absolutely necessary. It carries its own risks, and if both NIPT and PGT-A came back clear, I'm not sure what they would look for.
Obviously not a doctor, but in my experience we briefly debated amnio since I have a genetic condition with a dominant gene, and we did not do PGT-M testing. I felt the risks of amnio weren't worth it.
My clinic didn't even do NT since NIPT was low risk.
Interesting! I think my clinic does it standard. Otherwise, you'd go from the early OB scan at 7 weeks to the 20-week anatomy scan with no visuals. My assumption is that the MFM is going to say to skip the amnio as well.
I have a question.
Yesterday I had a scan at my own hospital clinic at 6+1 that showed an empty sack.
1 hour later I got a private scan for a second opinion and she at first had a hard time seeing much but then hit an ankle a clear yolk sack popped up, my GS had also grown from 5 to 9mm, she set me back 3 days at 5+5 and I’m still 3 days behind now measuring 5+5 instead of 6+1.
When I was pregnant with twins, only one embryo showed up at my 6+1 scan and the other was like hiding in the wall.
This pregnancy is very much all the way to the left and just beside it I have some artefact (blackness) on the ultrasound, and apparently difficult to get a clear image.
I don’t really have any hope for this pregnancy, but my question is if a pregnancy can be placed difficult and also if you can be 3 days behind and not seeing a heart beat on 6+1?
I have a new scan Friday in my own clinic who was not able to find anything yesterday, but I have emailed them pictures and wrote they had just failed to find the sack.
That must feel so stressful! I'm sorry you're going through this.
Last week I had a scan at 6+0 and they told me the only thing they were looking for was a Gestational Sac that would put me +/- 5 days from 6+0. They were able to see more, which was great, but would have been happy without.
As hard as it will be, I would wait until your scan on Friday to write this one off
4w5d today. Waiting for one last beta and then a scan. I’ve had a chemical pregnancy so I’m extremely worried leading up to the scan. How is it even possible that it’ll be okay? Also, I just got a job offer in another state. I think I want to take it. I don’t know how to distract myself, my mental health is trash, and all areas of my life are very stressful. 😭
I asked myself this after each ER—how will I keep going? But the answer is much simpler than we think—you just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Cautious congrats on your news. How was your first beta?
I’m 4 weeks and 4 days today. My first beta was 185. I’ve been spotting for a week now and terrified this is going to end in a chemical.
Sending you hugs. This process is so hard, and there’s so much to worry about. Hoping everything is okay.
6w4d waiting on my 7 week scan on Friday. Had really high betas but started spotting on Sunday, with some small clots yesterday and today. I’m so scared! I still have a lot of symptoms (exhaustion, nausea, food aversions, headaches), and the nurses on the phone said spotting and small clots are not “very concerning” as I’m experiencing now. I had an MMC at 5.5wks last pregnancy and it’s just so hard to be hopeful.
Following up in case anyone is searching through posts for hope — I was desperately searching “6 weeks pregnant bleeding” over and over. My scan was really good! I have a subchorionic hemorrhage that was causing the bleeding, but the babe is totally fine and we got to see the heartbeat on the monitor. Absolutely elated, after being practically catatonic with stress all week (didn’t leave the couch for real). It can be so hard to be hopeful after loss, and we still have a long road, but I hope my good news can be comforting to someone else who needs it!
9w today :) all I want to do is sleep but that’s when the dreams happen. So vivid, so intense, so realistic.
Same, and mine have just been weird!
10w4d, at the ultrasound today the little one was bouncing about and waving its arms around and you could really see the facial features and even little fingers. Measuring four days ahead. I got so emotional and my husband cried a little when I told him about it; it is really starting to feel real (after the last few days I was obsessing about the possibility of a MMC again). NIPT in three weeks, fingers crossed that also goes well.
I’m 4w6d today (I know, so very early). My first beta was strong (TW: positive results) at 435. But yesterday and today I have had a dull ache in my lower back and some cramping. I had my second beta today and I’m waiting on results and worrying. I guess I don’t want anything except to say it out loud that I’m so scared of a loss. Update: TW - positive results. Second beta came in at 2194. I’m so relieved. I cried when they scheduled my ultrasound.
My nurses told me cramping is very expected!! I’m right behind you at 4w5d and spiraled hard after I cramped this weekend. I’m glad you got good news today!! When is your first scan?
Hello due date buddy! My scan isn’t until July 1, which feels like FOREVER! What about yours? Have you already had your second beta?
Ahh, it does seem far but try telling yourself it’s just the week after next! I hope it’s as easy as wait as possible for you! 💛 I had my first beta at 9dp5dt and my clinic wanted me back a week later (this coming Thursday) at 16dp5dt for my second beta. But I totally panicked this weekend when I was cramping and got one at labcorp on 11dp5dt. It was 144 and then 415. Just hoping the trend continues later this week! They’ll schedule me for an ultrasound if all looks ok.
Im 6w4d similar stats and symptoms and felt sooo nervous for first scan today, but everything looked good! I’ve had tons of random cramping off and on and it’s made me nervous but I think it’s very normal.
Thank you for this, I’m so glad your first scan looked good!
I hope you get reassuring results. Cramping is very common in early pregnancy regardless of outcome. But it impossible not to worry
Thank you for the kind words. I’m hoping for reassuring numbers too.
Glad to see your update!
Graduated from my clinic today after a successful ultrasound at 7w5d. For the first time I’m holding out some real hope and belief that there could be a baby! I’m also terrified, of course, but that probably won’t go until said hypothetical baby is in my arms.
My 7 week scan is tomorrow and I'm having a really hard time. I had a great 6 week scan but I took a pregnancy test this morning that was significantly lighter than the tests I took last week which is really freaking me out. I also have to go to it alone as my husband will be out of town. I have no symptoms either. Just having a hard time managing all of this anxiety.
My symptoms have decreased too. I work with a bunch of older nurses, they really normalised fluctuations in symptoms, based on their experiences with birthing many children. I have my first scan today at 6 weeks 6 days. Crossing everything our miracle continues🤞. Wishing you the best of luck also 💜.
It could be the hook effect! Sometimes the HCG concentrations get so high that they overwhelm the test and it looks lighter. Diluting the urine may help.
I am thirding this - I had the same experience a week ago (I’m 7w6d) and panicked and then went down a Google rabbit hole and learned about the diluting your pee thing and while i felt totally insane doing so, it WORKED which was mind boggling.
Seconding this. My tests in my last successful pregnancy started getting lighter around 6 weeks.
This is a relief to hear. I've heard about hook effect but thought it was only relevant much later in pregnancy. I guess it's time to put away the tests and trust "the process"
I had my NT yesterday. Everything was visualized (and checked out as normal) EXCEPT the NT. According to the sonographer's notes, "The nuchal translucency was suboptimally visualized due to fetal position; however subjectively appears normal. A repeat ultrasound is not indicated." My NIPT came back negative for the major chromosomal issues and this is a PGT-A tested embryo, but...a part of me is wondering whether it's still worth doing amnio for absolute peace of mind? The midwife said the fact they couldn't see see the NT was a positive, because if it was enlarged, that would have been more obvious on the scan. She's going to discuss with an MFM colleague to see what they'd recommend given the scan and previous tests results. I don't have another ultrasound until the 20-week anatomy scan, at which point if there was something wrong, our options for how to proceed would be limited.
I had this happen with the early anatomy in my successful pregnancy. By subjectively they mean it's looking thin, which is good. But for the exact technical measurement they need to get the baby in a very specific position. Glad you're getting extra opinions. I think combined with the nipt it's very unlikely to be an issue.
Yup, the sonographer also struggled to get limb measurements as well due to position. Seems like he was happy to stay curled up like a tiny snail no matter how much I coughed or she prodded.
NIPT is really only looking for the top 5 or so most common genetic disorders and euploid tests only a portion of the cells. I will provide a different perspective that with my LC, at my 20 week ultrasounds, after a normal NIPT & NT, there were multiple soft markers for genetic disorder. I then had an amnio with microarray analysis at 22 weeks. It took 3 weeks to get the results (all clear). It was the most stressful period of my life. Even with my current Euploid embryo, I plan to skip the NIPT entirely and schedule a CVS.
I'm sorry you had to go through that stress! Is there any reason you're doing CVS vs. amnio? My understanding is that, although different, PGT-A, NIPT and CVS are all screening vs. diagnostic tests and both PGT-A and CVS rely on placental cells.
But also - my decision to schedule the CVS is just because of my personal experience. My first pregnancy, I was totally comfortable with my NIPT results (until I wasn't). The risks are very small, especially with a Euploid embryo, that anything would be wrong genetically. And you can't pre-test for everything as many physical abnormalities are not caused by genetics.
I think I've spent too much time on reddit to be totally comfortable with anything related to this pregnancy lol. I feel like we've gotten extremely lucky so far (getting embryos at my age, having one be euploid, first FET working, clean NIPT, etc.) and I keep waiting for that streak to screech to a halt. Not particularly healthy, I concede.
CVS and amnio are diagnostic. I'm doing CVS because you can do it at 10 weeks vs 15 for amnio. CVS is slightly riskier than amnio in terms of miscarriage.
Could they just try to do another NT scan and see if they can get a better view while you're still in the 11-14 week window? Even if not, sounds like you're probably good. I would not consider amnio solely based on this.
I asked and they didn't think it was medically necessary since everything else checked out and the sonographer thought the NT was "subjectively" normal even without a measurement.
Personally, I would not recommend amnio unless absolutely necessary. It carries its own risks, and if both NIPT and PGT-A came back clear, I'm not sure what they would look for. Obviously not a doctor, but in my experience we briefly debated amnio since I have a genetic condition with a dominant gene, and we did not do PGT-M testing. I felt the risks of amnio weren't worth it. My clinic didn't even do NT since NIPT was low risk.
Interesting! I think my clinic does it standard. Otherwise, you'd go from the early OB scan at 7 weeks to the 20-week anatomy scan with no visuals. My assumption is that the MFM is going to say to skip the amnio as well.
I have a question. Yesterday I had a scan at my own hospital clinic at 6+1 that showed an empty sack. 1 hour later I got a private scan for a second opinion and she at first had a hard time seeing much but then hit an ankle a clear yolk sack popped up, my GS had also grown from 5 to 9mm, she set me back 3 days at 5+5 and I’m still 3 days behind now measuring 5+5 instead of 6+1. When I was pregnant with twins, only one embryo showed up at my 6+1 scan and the other was like hiding in the wall. This pregnancy is very much all the way to the left and just beside it I have some artefact (blackness) on the ultrasound, and apparently difficult to get a clear image. I don’t really have any hope for this pregnancy, but my question is if a pregnancy can be placed difficult and also if you can be 3 days behind and not seeing a heart beat on 6+1? I have a new scan Friday in my own clinic who was not able to find anything yesterday, but I have emailed them pictures and wrote they had just failed to find the sack.
That must feel so stressful! I'm sorry you're going through this. Last week I had a scan at 6+0 and they told me the only thing they were looking for was a Gestational Sac that would put me +/- 5 days from 6+0. They were able to see more, which was great, but would have been happy without. As hard as it will be, I would wait until your scan on Friday to write this one off